One-hundred years ago, the company that would become BMW AG was entered into the commercial register in Munich, Bavaria. To celebrate its 100th birthday, BMW is taking only a brief moment to reflect on its history before jumping head first into its future. It is calling both the celebration and its future vision "The Next 100 Years.”
At a special ceremony in Munich today, Harald Krüger, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, discussed the company’s philosophy of being a pioneer in the mobility industry by focusing on the future and what might be possible.
“At the BMW Group,” said Krüger, “we are always on a quest for the best solution. It’s part of our DNA. It’s also the spirit of our collaborations, a recurring theme that permeates our corporate and leadership culture.”
BMW takes pride in embracing the capacity to learn and adapt, mastering technological innovation, and maintaining a commitment to social responsibility. As Krüger pointed out, “We have demonstrated on many occasions throughout our history that we are capable of learning fast and taking bold steps.”
The company is also capable of rationally examining past mistakes and accepting responsibility for its actions; primarily, the company’s support of and working relationship with the National Socialist movement leading up to and including the Second World War, especially BMW’s use of forced labor and its associated atrocities. In the 1980s, BMW became the first German corporation to openly discuss and acknowledge this part of its history, and has since worked to support intercultural understanding and social improvements.
Today’s centenary celebration quickly evolved into a demonstration of what BMW sees as its future direction. “The Next 100 Years” is BMW’s projection of the products it will work to develop and build, as well as how the company will fit into society in the years to come.
The BMW Group intends to continue to lead the industry in premium mobility that will be effortless, comprehensively available, and tailored to customer preferences. BMW envisions a driving environment that includes fully automated vehicles carrying passengers safely in ever-more-crowded urban streets and connecting highways. Its vision also includes ensuring that the BMW Group continues to build cars that drivers will love to drive. That sounds to us like two different product lines, but time will tell.
Connectivity will become more commonplace and pervasive, allowing vehicle occupants to use their road travel time more productively. Connectivity also means providing drivers with more pertinent information in a way that promotes safety, productivity, and most importantly, the BMW driving experience.
As Harald Krüger said, “Future mobility will connect every area of people’s lives. And that’s where we see new opportunities for premium mobility.”
Never content to describe what a car will look like when it can build one to show the world, BMW this morning premiered its latest concept car: the BMW Vision Next 100. It has the roofline of a coupe, but with four doors. The wheels and corresponding fender flares are huge, and the kidney grilles leave no doubt as to what company made it. BMW claims that it demonstrates how it can build a vehicle that can be highly customized and tailored to a driver’s changing needs.
In the BMW Vision Next 100, the driver chooses between driver-controlled or vehicle-controlled operation. The interior of the car actually changes based on the operational mode. In what BMW calls Boost Mode, everything in the car focuses on the driver, from the controls to the seats to the speed, steering, and instrumentation. In Ease Mode, the steering “wheel” and center console retract and the seats and headrests rearrange themselves to form a more comfortable two-passenger arrangement that is conducive to conversation. We’re thinking it will take a whole bunch of strategically positioned airbags to get that seating configuration to pass crash testing.
The point of the BMW Vision Next 100 is to explore how a car can be used in multiple configurations and how occupants can interact with the vehicle, the environment, and each other.
“If, as a designer, you are able to imagine something, there’s a good chance it could one day become reality,” said Adrian van Hooydonk, Head of BMW Group Design. “So our objective with the BMW Vision Next 100 was to develop a future scenario that people would engage with.”
The BMW Vision Next 100 was the star of BMW’s centenary party at the Munich Olympic Hall today. Among the 2,000 guests were people from automotive-related industries, politics, research organizations, and media, as well as selected BMW Group employees, suppliers, and dealers.
After today’s party, the BMW Vision Next 100 concept car is headed for a World Tour that will be called “Iconic Impulses.” China, the United Kingdom, and the United States are scheduled for tour stops.
To the company that has brought us so much driving pleasure, social connections, just plain fun, and which 47 years ago inspired a bunch of BMW fans to start what has become “the best damn car club in the world,” we add our congratulations on its 100th birthday. And many happy returns.—Scott Blazey
[Photos courtesy of BMW AG.]
